Ferguson hinted that he felt the Anfield legend may have misjudged the situation with his continued backing of the Uruguayan striker, with Suarez subsequently awarded an eight-game ban after being found guilty by the Football Association of racially abusing Evra.

"I wasn't surprised at Kenny leaving," Ferguson told reporters.

"I think [Liverpool owner] John Henry has obviously looked at the Suarez incident and felt it wasn't handled in the right way.

"I think that must have been part of it. It certainly wasn't a nice thing to happen, you know."

Suarez accused the club of having "a lot of political power" in English football and claimed that the country's media did not portray the non-handshake incident when the two players met again at Old Trafford fairly.

"I've seen that Suarez has gone back and talked about it," he added. "If Suarez keeps on making headlines out of it then it's not going to go away."